Duval County, Florida
Duval County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 778,879. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 826,436 http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2005-01-12.xls. Its county seat is Jacksonville6. History Duval County was created in 1822 from St. Johns County. It was named for William Pope Duval, Territorial Governor of Florida from 1822 to 1834. When Duval County was created it covered a massive area, from the Suwannee River on the west to the Atlantic Ocean on the east, north of a line from the mouth of the Suwannee River to Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. Alachua and Nassau Counties were created out of parts of Duval County in 1824. Clay County was created from part of Duval County in 1858. Part of St. Johns County south and east of the lower reaches of the St. Johns River was transferred to Duval County in the 1840s.Fernald, Edward A., Ed. (1981) Atlas of Florida. The Florida State University Foundation, Inc. ISBN 0-9606708-0-7 P.131 Alachua County Maps Nassau County Maps [http://fcit.usf.edu/Florida/maps/county/clay/clay.htm Clay County Maps On October 1, 1968, the government of Duval County was consolidated with the government of the City of [[Wikipedia:Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville], although the Duval County cities of Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Jacksonville Beach, and Neptune Beach are not included in the corporate limits of Jacksonville, and maintain their own municipal governments. In the early 1990s these three beach cities considered separating from Duval and forming Ocean County, an idea that had been discussed since consolidation, but after the 1995 election of Jacksonville mayor John Delaney, a resident and former Mayor of Neptune Beach, the idea was dropped. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,378 km² (918 sq mi). 2,004 km² (774 sq mi) of it is land and 374 km² (145 sq mi) of it is water, much of it in the Atlantic Ocean. The total area is 15.74% water. The topography is coastal plain; however there are some rolling hills. Adjacent Counties *Nassau County - north *St. Johns County - southeast *Clay County - southwest *Baker County - west Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there were 778,879 people, 303,747 households, and 201,688 families residing in the county. The population density was 389/km² (1,007/sq mi). There were 329,778 housing units at an average density of 165/km² (426/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 65.80% White, 27.83% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.71% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 4.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 90.7% spoke English, 4.1% Spanish and 1.0% Tagalog as their first language. There were 303,747 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.50% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,703, and the median income for a family was $47,689. Males had a median income of $32,954 versus $26,015 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,753. About 9.20% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.40% of those under age 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or over. According to the city's website, as of October 2004, there were 515,202 registered voters in Duval County. Cities and towns *Atlantic Beach *Baldwin *Jacksonville *Jacksonville Beach *Neptune Beach Politics In Presidential Elections, Duval county is perhaps the largest reliably Republican county in the state. References External links Government links *City of Jacksonville official website of City of Jacksonville/Duval County Elected Constitutional Offices *Duval County Property Appraiser *Duval County Supervisor of Elections *Duval County Tax Collector *Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Special districts *Duval County Public Schools * Duval County Soil & Water Conservation District *St. Johns River Water Management District Judicial branch * Duval County Clerk of Courts * Public Defender, 4th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties * Office of the State Attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit of Florida * Circuit and County Court, 4th Judicial Circuit of Florida Tourism * Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention and Visitors' Bureau Category:Charter counties in Florida Category:Duval County, Florida